


Christmas Vacation

by xoPeapup



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: AFTERCARE series, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-13
Updated: 2019-12-13
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:40:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21779218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xoPeapup/pseuds/xoPeapup
Summary: Negan and his entourage wanna kick off their fun old-fashioned family Christmas by heading out into the country in the old front-wheel-drive sleigh to embrace the frosty majesty of the winter landscape and select the most important of Christmas symbols :)
Relationships: Daryl Dixon/Jesus, Daryl Dixon/Jesus/Negan, Daryl Dixon/Negan, Rick Grimes/Jesus/Shane Walsh, Rick Grimes/Shane Walsh
Comments: 8
Kudos: 86





	Christmas Vacation

**Author's Note:**

> This is a little Christmas thing I wrote last year but never got to post it. It doesn't really fit into the current Aftercare timeline so I post it now as a stand-alone.
> 
> Hope you all have happy holidays, with lots of wine, french fries, and fir needles on the floor <3

"JESUS!" Daryl had counted the days down since the last Halloween pumpkin in front of the factory's doors had found its inevitable ending in janitor Joseph's organic waste bin. And now that even Thanksgiving was finally over and the first of December was just hours away he really couldn't understand why Paul didn't hurry up when everybody else waited already in the car, ready to roll. 

He made two steps up and yelled again through the empty staircase at the top of his lungs. "COME!"

"Okay, okay..." A minute later a very unmotivated man with hopelessly disheveled hair, dressed in a baggy, orange fleece onesie came down the stairs, rubbing his tired face. "What's the matter..." He yawned, scratching his belly. "I thought we sleep in today."

"'s almost noon." Daryl gave Paul a light push, really disappointed that he wasn't excited about the awesome trip.

"It is?" Jesus glanced at his wrist as if there would be a watch and then shrugged, sitting down at the bottom of the stairs to slip into his doc martens, not bothering to tie them up. "I hope we stop somewhere for breakfast." 

Daryl didn't. They would just waste precious time. "Now come!" He held the red door open and gave Paul another push on the way out, three butterflies poking in his stomach when the heavy door fell shut behind them. Finally.

"Good morning, Sir." Jesus pulled the left passenger door open and brought half a bucket of snow into a freshly cleaned Dodge Charger when he crawled onto the backseat next to a very well behaved German Shepherd, "Oh look!" pleased when he found his Nintendo DS on the way. 

"What the fuck are you wearing." Negan glared into the rearview mirror, blindly turning the heating up, seeing one of his boys without hat, scarf or jacket.

"Hm?" Jesus looked down on himself as he buckled up. "It's my Tigger onesie. Auntie Maria sent it."

"Mhm." Negan waited until Daryl had buckled up as well before he started the engine. "And you thought it's the appropriate attire for a trip to the fucking woods." He sighed, shaking his head as he drove out of the gates and onto the street, giving a brief wave to his janitor who stood with a snow shovel in the driveway, smiling happily from one ear to the other at the sight of his boss.

"Don't worry, Sir." Paul switched his DS on, happy when he saw that the battery was almost fully charged. "I'm wearing my long johns underneath." 

Daryl listened apprehensively, worried they would turn around to gather warmer clothing or a different game for the Nintendo. "I don' need mine." He opened his jacket and slipped out of the right sleeve.

"You keep it on." Negan changed lanes, trying to stay calm when a lady well in her 80's decided to drive her old Ford Cortina at its maximum speed of 7 kilometers per hour towards the next Whole Foods store. "If his fucking dick freezes off we call him Paula. "

\----

"What do you mean?" Rick squinted, holding the car door open for his partner. "My boots are fine!"

"They fall apart!" Shane slumped onto the seat, making Jesus and Tiger move half an inch to the left, squishing Daryl into the other door.

"Good morning, Sir." Paul didn't look up from his screen but leaned a bit sideways in case somebody wanted to kiss him hello. "Did you sleep well?"

"No." Shane pinched Paul's cheek as the door was slammed shut with an undeniable tinge of frustration. "What's that." He pulled the orange fleece fabric covering a rather petite arm.

"It's from aunt Maria. I told you she sent him a gift." Rick claimed the passenger seat, leaning in for the brief kiss Negan offered. He really wasn't sure why he even bothered to tell his partner anything.

"Yeah. Doesn't explain why he's wearing it." Shane slumped deeper into the seat, shaking his head as he stared out of the window. 

Daryl looked from one man to the other, glad when Negan started the car again and drove out of the city. He was sure everybody would be in a much better mood once they were in the woods.

\----

"Are we there yet?" After thirty minutes Paul couldn't ignore his empty stomach any longer and put his DS down with a groan. "I'm starving."

"We go to cut a fucking tree. I told you to get up on time and have breakfast." Negan gritted his teeth when Rick turned the volume up to yet another corny Christmas song playing on the radio.

"Oh well..." Jesus leaned his head on Daryl's shoulder. "Puppy can hunt me a squirrel."

"Okay." Daryl sniffed his nose. He could do that. There was a shovel in the trunk.

Paul laced their fingers together, smiling. "Will you cook it for me on a fire?" He got a very genuine nod.

"Hm."

"Th." Shane tried to contain a smirk, still staring out at the snowy landscape rushing by. 

\----

"Are you sure that's right?" Rick leaned three inches forward to squint through the windshield as if that would help to see better. For about eleven minutes now the environment looked very unfamiliar and while there were trees left and right from the road as far as the eye could see, none of them seemed to belong to a Christmas tree farm.

Negan slowed down, narrowing his eyes as an icy tone took over his dangerously low voice. "What do you mean am I fucking sure. You said you know the way."

Rick mumbled something unintelligible as he unfolded the crinkled map on his lap, turning it upside down for a new perspective. 

It made Negan's nostrils flare and take a sharp turn to the left on the snowy road to nowhere when a sign for Spucket's gas station appeared between a couple of especially majestic spruces.

"I take a cheeseburger." Jesus didn't look up from his game but was sure one of his grumpy Dads would head straight for the next McDonald's.

"We're not goin' for lunch." At least Daryl hoped that was true. He wanted to cut a tree. 

\----

"A tree farm, ya say?" Old Otis Spucket scratched the back of his head then shook it. "We've got a pig farm up west."

"I don't need pigs." Rick squinted at the man behind the counter who obviously didn't understand the seriousness of the situation. "I have a boy in the car who wants a tree." He pointed to the black muscle car on the other side of the shop window, using his most accusing tone because it was easier to blame Otis rather than his own navigation skills. "Would it be too much to ask if you make a call or something to find out whether we are at least in the right area?" 

Negan groaned behind the snack-shelf, shaking his head as he grabbed some cereal bars and a box of tic tacs. It was actually kind of adorable when his employee tried to take matters into his own hands, using his commanding voice. 

Otis shrugged, blindly gesturing to his old dial operated telephone. "Died last week." He sniffed his nose soundly, wiping it with the back of his hand. "But I could give you a map."

Rick sighed, closing his eyes as he massaged the bridge of his nose. "Fine."

Otis sniffed his nose again, putting a slightly outdated road map on the counter that sported a coffee stain on the front. "10 Dollars."

"What? I am not paying ten dollars for that junk!"

"We don't need a fucking map." Negan pushed Mister Grimes out of the way to claim the space in front of the counter, putting the snacks down he wanted to buy. "We'll take these and two bottles of water." He got his wallet out and gestured with it to the door for Rick. "Go, and ask if anyone has to take a piss as long as we're here."

"No? I'm not done here!"

Negan got a ten-dollar bill out, "One." causing his employee to squint in irritation and put his hands on his hips.

"Are you giving me a strike?"

Negan raised his eyebrows to the uneasy laugh he got. "You want another one?"

Rick's squint grew even deeper but he couldn't think of a counter-argument and after a moment he turned to leave, muttering too low for anyone to hear.

\----

Daryl glared out of the window at one of the old gas pumps and the two men arguing in front of it. He really wished they would start again already.

"Look, I know it is here somewhere." Rick tried to calm down. "I took Carl. We cut a Nordmann fir and had cinnamon buns on the way home."

"Last year?" Shane sighed, rubbing the back of his head as he studied the map again. "Are you sure you took the 985?"

Rick glanced at the map as well, shrugging one shoulder. "2006. It was the year Lori cut her hair." And went out a lot with her friend Rachel. To find herself. 

"2006?" Shane laughed but sounded more exasperated than amused. "Are you serious?"

Even the German Shepherd on the backseat threw a worried glance out of the window when the argument grew noticeably louder and a bit more aggressive.

"I hope Daddy brings snacks." Jesus winced when his Mario jumped and fell off the blocks. "Shit."

Daryl sniffed his nose, seeing a tall man in leather jacket leaving the little gas station's salesroom. "He asked for the way." To the tree farm.

Jesus took his DS down and glanced up. "Will you actually cut it down all by yourself? What if it drops on me?"

"Hm." Daryl shook his head and imitated a falling tree with his hand. "You can steer the direction." The driver's door opened and a white plastic bag was thrown on the backseat.

"Sweet!" Jesus had the first cereal bar opened and half-eaten before Negan had climbed behind the wheel.

"No fucking crumbs on the seat." He buckled up and honked, gesturing for the fighting couple to get the fuck back in. "And give one to Daryl."

"Okay." Paul stopped mid-bite and gave the second snack bar to Daryl who accepted it humbly and shot a glance to the rearview mirror.

"Thank you."

"Good boy." Negan was pleased by his sub's impeccable manners and reached over the empty passenger seat to push the door open. "CHOP CHOP, MA AND PA! FUCKIN' MOVE IT!" 

\----

The next twenty miles led through the most picturesque winter scenery. Empty roads leading along lush green forests blanketed with freshly fallen snow. It was magical.

"Can you stop over there?" Rick on the passenger seat squeezed his thighs together as he pointed casually out of the window. "Just for a minute."

Negan squinted to the right. "Why?"

"What do you think." Rick's tone sounded a bit hostile.

"I think I just told you three minutes ago to take a fucking piss at the goddamnfucking gas station." Negan didn't see a reason to keep his voice down or handle the subject with more privacy.

"It wasn't three minutes ago." Rick crinkled his nose, his hand already on the door when the car steered towards the side of the road.

Negan stopped a bit abruptly, waving two fingers. "Chop, chop. Don't forget to wipe your ass."

Rick scowled and yanked the door open with a mumbled dementi regarding the nature of his basic need but had no time for a real argument when he jogged toward the next bush in sight.

"Anyone else?" Negan glanced into the rearview mirror.

"Hmm..." Jesus squeezed one eye shut as he pondered the content and filling volume of his bladder and decided it would probably be better not to take a risk. "Be right back, Sir!" He unbuckled and opened the back door in one go, hurrying after one of his dads.

Daryl glanced up to meet Negan's gaze in the mirror, shaking his head. 

Shane groaned, stretching his arms and back before he unbuckled and grabbed Tiger's leash. "Will go with him."

Daryl sniffed his nose, watching the door fall shut, and then sniffed it again when the closed-off space in the car grew really silent. He wished they were at the tree farm already.

"You wanna spell spruce for me." Negan didn't turn around but voiced his request in a firm tone.

Daryl sniffed his nose a third time and pulled his thumb for six seconds before he said the first letter out loud and when he did, it didn't sound very friendly. "S P R U C E." 

"Very good." Negan seemed to like the result anyway. "Are you looking forward to cutting a nice tree for me?"

"Hm." Daryl nodded because he really did. He had thought about it for days now and tried to imagine how impressed Negan would be. "Yes."

"Mhm." Negan evaluated the length of his perfectly trimmed fingernails, pursing his lips. "What will you use to cut it? A saw?"

"Mh." Daryl shook his head and gnawed on one of his own fingernails without even realizing it, then gestured the technique he had in mind, even though he wasn't watched. "Your ax."

Negan nodded. "Spell ax for me."

Daryl squinted at the back of Negan's headrest and then even scowled a little when he realized that he only knew the first letter for sure. "Why."

Negan didn't bother to answer but glanced up from his fingernails to look into the rearview mirror, arching a brow.

The scowl on Daryl's face grew deeper but he grumbled the first letter, "A" and then sighed in a really annoyed fashion and looked out of the window when he mumbled a guess that was barely audible, because the options 'Ks' and 'x' both sounded kind of wrong. "x."

"Nice!" Negan praised the insecure answer effusively. "Very good. Depending on the spelling you could finish it off with an 'e', but 'A x' is correct as well. Fucking great job."

"Hm." Daryl pulled his thumb again while buckets of warmth and pride swirled through his chest, making his lips curl into a very faint smile.

"Oh, did he suck you off, Sir?" The door flew open and a young man with red cheeks and a bit of snow in his long hair slipped onto the backseat. "Why didn't you wait for me?"

Negan cocked the second brow in addition. "I'm still waiting for you to learn how to get into my fucking car without a pound of snow or fuckin' mud on your goddamnfucking feet."

Paul glanced down as he rubbed his left boot against the right. "It's just a little." 

"Mhm. Buckle up." Negan reached over to the passenger door when Rick obviously had difficulties to operate the handle correctly with his thick gloves. "How the fuck did you pull your dick out with these oven mitts?"

Rick glowered as he got into the car. "Shut up."

"Shit man." Shane opened the backdoor and slumped onto the seat. "It's fucking freezing." 

Daryl's eyes lit up when Tiger climbed over two pairs of legs just to get near him. And then looked up and frowned when Negan turned the key and the starter released a cacophony of weird sounds, first grinding then screeching, before a faint smell of smoke filled the interior of the car.

"What's wrong?" Rick shot a worried glance at the driver.

Jesus took his Nintendo down. "Is the car not starting?"

Negan didn't answer, turned the key once more and cursed when all that happened was a sad gurgling. He yanked the door open, trudged through the muddy snow, opened the hood and disappeared behind it. 

Daryl sniffed his nose, glancing at the only Dom left in the car. "I can help."

"Probably just a frozen fuel line." Shane got out as well, "Wait here." and threw the door shut.

"Maybe a rat chewed on the wires." Paul continued his game, pulling his feet up on the edge of the seat for more comfort. 

"Nah." Daryl watched how Shane joined Negan behind the open hood, rubbing his cold palms. He heard them talking but couldn't understand what they were saying exactly. There was some clanking and a scratching noise, then nothing for a while, before a gloved finger suddenly knocked at the window right next to him.

"Boy. Come for a second, maybe you can help."

Something warm and very happy fluttered through Daryl's chest as he pushed the door open. "Alright." He knew a lot about car engines and maybe he could really help. 

\----

Twenty minutes later, Daryl had double-checked each and every part of the engine but just couldn't find the problem. Also, the weather conditions had changed for the worse with a serious decrease in temperature and new snowfall. 

Negan shook his head, waving two fingers for his sub. "Go get my phone. I call AAA."

"Yeah, probably for the best." Shane pulled his collar up when a gust of icy wind hit his ears.

"Hm." Daryl nodded, closed the hood and walked to the driver's side. But as he touched the door handle froze dead in his tracks, realizing that there wasn't any phone he could get for Negan. Because the phone wasn't in the car. It was back home, safely hidden beneath a pile of freshly washed and folded towels in the linen closet. ...where he had secretly put it this morning to prevent annoying business calls on their wonderful tree-cutting-trip. 

"Boy. The fucking phone before my dick freezes the fuck off."

A bucket of ugly heat washed through Daryl's guts. For a moment he considered to lie or maybe stall for time by searching through the glove compartment. But then he didn't and just stared at his fingers on the door handle, feeling his ears throb and his cheeks heating up.

Negan was about to remind his sub a third time when realization dawned on him and he groaned instead, rubbing his forehead. "You took it again?"

"Hm." Daryl didn't really nod and kept his eyes on the door handle, watching one of his fingertips stroke its smooth surface. But to his surprise there was no angry outburst or a lecture, just a sigh.

"1-800-222-4357." Negan nudged Shane's elbow. "Ask for roadside assistance."

"Shit." Shane patted his jacket down. "Left it on the counter. Battery was down." He jogged to the other side of the car, opening the passenger door. "We need a phone."

Paul didn't even look up from his Nintendo. "Sorry Sir, didn't bring mine. It's in my pants."

Rick lifted his butt out of the seat. "Maybe you should've put them on instead of that romper." He pulled his old flip phone out of his back pocket and handed it over to his partner. "AAA?"

Shane nodded. "Where is your new phone?"

"What do you mean where is my new phone?" Rick sounded offended. "I told you I'm not bringing it to a trip to the woods! Are you ever listening to anything I tell you?"

Shane groaned, pushed the door shut and instantly started dialing just to notice that there was no reception at all. He shut the phone, opened it again, jogged up the road, stopped to dial again, then jogged back to the car and handed the useless device to Negan. "Nothing."

"Boy." Negan addressed his sub without looking at him. "Wait in the car."

Daryl didn't even want to contradict. He just quietly followed the order and was glad to close the heavy car door behind himself.

"What's going on? Will somebody come to repair the car?" Jesus tortured the button on his handheld game console, trying to fight off some pestering vines. "I hope they bring hot coffee. With caramel syrup."

Daryl didn't answer, his eyes on the two men standing in a bit of a distance in the mild snowsquall. They both seemed to be cold. They had their arms crossed in front of their chest and obviously talked about something serious. Once Shane gestured to the right and Negan nodded with furrowed brows, then pointed in the same direction with an added comment. Daryl felt a bit sick, and even more so when the man on the passenger seat turned around.

"Are they waiting for roadside assistance?"

"Nah." Daryl's reply sounded a bit gruff and hostile, but he really wasn't in the mood to answer questions.

Rick squinted. "I thought they called AAA?"

"Didn' work."

"Am I the only one who brought a phone?"

Jesus moved the whole device to the left as if it would help to steer his game character away from the threatening abyss. "Can't Negan just use the app?"

"Mh." Daryl shrugged half a shoulder, glowering at his knees. He really wished it was summer and silly Christmas trees wouldn't exist.

\----

"According to the map it's just a few miles." Shane pointed towards the woods on the left side of the road. "I'll give Paul my jacket."

Negan nodded and then squinted back over his shoulder, "What the shit..." when he heard an angry voice shouting a 'What is wrong with you' while boy number two clearly tried to be a calming influence. He trudged to the passenger door and yanked it open. "HEY!"

"WHAT!?" Rick had unbuckled and waved an arm towards the meek person on the backseat. "He hid your phone? We could've been in an accident! Somebody could die because of the shit he keeps pulling!"

"Mhm." Negan crooked two fingers, staying perfectly calm. "Get out. Help your man pack the shit from the trunk." When Rick's mouth opened for a complaint, he simply waved his fingers once more. "Go."

Paul shut his Nintendo, ducking his head to see one of his dads through the open car door. "Are we walking back home, Sir?"

"No. We think there's a hotel in walking distance. My gym bag is in the trunk. Go look if there's something you can wear."

"Alrighty." Jesus exited the car, instantly pulling the hood of his fleece onesie up. "Oh boy, it's nippy!"

Daryl didn't look up and didn't move. He just stared at his lap, his shoulders hunched, his hair falling into his face. "You can wait here. I'll go alone. I can get help. " 

Negan shut the passenger door and opened the one in the back instead. "May you run all alone through the fucking wilderness to find a hotel with a working telephone?" He snapped his fingers for his boy to unbuckle and get out. "No, you may the fuck not. You may put a leash on my dog and follow me like a good boy."

Daryl reluctantly climbed off the backseat and gnawed his bottom lip, not daring to look up when he found himself chest to chest with a very tall, albeit not very angry man. "'m sorry."

"You're sorry for taking my phone even though you fucking know full well that you're not allowed to? I know." Negan didn't insist on eye contact, just pushed his boy against the cool material of his leather jacket, fondling the back of his head for a moment. "We will talk about it later. Now go get your ax. We might as well get that tree if we have to wander through that fucking forest like a bunch of merry wood gnomes." 

"Hm?" The words 'ax' and 'tree' revived Daryl's spirits to some extent and he risked a glance up through tousled bangs. "The Christmas tree?"

"Well if we're not starting soon it'll be a fucking maypole." Negan patted his sub's butt. "Chop, chop. Don't want my balls to freeze off."

\----

"But you said walking distance, Sir." Paul Rovia sounded as miserable as he felt after walking for thirty minutes through ankle-deep snow. He had found a pair of slightly baggy training pants and an APEX swim club hoodie, that he wore over his orange-colored Tigger-onesie, along with a woolen beanie and his DocMartens. "I think my toes froze off and fell into my boots."

"And your nuts will join them voluntarily if you don't stop whining like a little girl at a canceled tea party." Negan stopped briefly to consider whether they should continue their path or head further north.

Shane pointed north and pulled his gloves off to hand them to his boyfriend.

"I can't believe you let him bring the hatchet." Rick gestured to the ax in Daryl's hand. "Do you have any idea how much they charge you for cutting a tree that isn't approved by the forestry authority? We could go to jail for that." 

"Yeah well," Negan took the ax and casually put it over his shoulder, while wrapping an arm around boy number one. "As long as he bends to my authority we're all set." He squeezed Daryl's upper arm once. "Right boy?"

"Hm." Daryl nodded. He really liked their little unscheduled hiking trip. It was like an early Christmas present.

"Yes." Rick grimaced, mumbling to himself. "Only that he doesn't."

Shane heard it anyway, huffed a laugh and then spoke loud enough for the entire group to hear. "Sorry boys... time to powder our noses real quick." He wrapped four fingers around the back of his partner's neck and pushed him to the right where they vanished behind a sturdy fir and a sea of blackberry bushes.

It made Negan chuckle and Daryl sniff his nose in slight confusion.

"Man," Jesus shook his head as he kicked a clump of freshly fallen snow. "Sometimes I wish I could be a fly on the wall when they vanish for their secret little training sessions."

\----

After an hour of marching through the winterly Georgian undergrowth, the formerly good mood had changed noticeably. The cold started to creep beneath every layer of clothing, snow soaked the impractical footwear, and there was still no hotel or any other sign of civilization in sight.

Shane led the way, dragging an unusually quiet Paul along, while Rick walked next to Negan and tried to pass the time by talking about a business decision they had been unsure about for a while now.

"Seven maybe. Not sure." Negan wasn't fully paying attention though, "BOY!" because his sub kept on vanishing between the trees to collect weird things like small shards, an empty bean can, a piece of black plastic foil, and a stick without bark. "Here I said!"

Nine seconds later the bushes on the left rustled and Daryl appeared with a bit of moss sticking to his tousled hair. He sniffed his red nose and held a hand out to present six berries. "'s for you."

"Yeah, you wanna keep them warm for me until I get hungry." Negan softened his tone a bit. "And now stay here as I told you."

"Hm." Daryl nodded, "Okay." and followed his owner in a polite distance, where he was able to see every hand signal meant for him, and also any kind of useful trinket other people had thrown away but could possibly help them if they wouldn't find the hotel before sundown.

...like just five minutes later when he spotted a neat hub cap on the wayside along with a barely gnawed-on mushroom. He collected the first, picked the second, brushed some dirt off its stem and then froze in shock when he turned around and saw thick red drops in the perfectly white snow, a whole line, leading to the very tall man in leather jacket and biker boots who had stopped and stood a bit hunched over.

"Here." Rick pulled a tissue out of his pocket. "It's unused."

"Are you alright, Sir?" Paul let go of Shane's hand, pure horror written all over his face. "Do you need a doctor?"

"Yeah, even if he did we couldn't call one!" Rick searched for a second tissue when the first was drenched in a matter of seconds. "Thanks to him." He just mumbled the last part but shot a pejorative look in Daryl's direction.

Negan groaned, straightening back to full height, while pressing a red-stained tissue to his nose. "Here. Hold this." He handed the ax to Rick and gestured somewhere to the right. "And wait over there for fucks sake."

Rick squinted, holding the tool as if he had never seen anything like it before. "Are you punishing me? I am right! Look at you, you are sick and we can't get help because of him!"

"I am not fucking sick. My nose bleeds. And yours will too if you don't fucking stop lecturing my boy! It's not your fucking call!" Once more he waved two fingers. "Now go!" He earned a serious stink eye for his order but ignored it and instead addressed his sub, who looked horrified with his rusty can and hub cap in hand. "We take a little break. You wanna go find some wood and make me a fire. Take Tiger with you."

"Hm." Daryl nodded, putting all his collected garbage down, berries and mushroom safely stored inside the empty can. A break was a good idea and a fire even better. He could maybe even build a comfy shelter for Negan to rest in case they wouldn't find the hotel or the way back home.

"Good boy." Negan took the tissue off his nose, looked at it and folded it in a different way. "I'll wait here."

\----

When Daryl returned with a tail-wagging German Shepherd and an arm full of twigs, the situation looked far less threatening. Negan's nose didn't bleed anymore. He sat on a tree log, his legs casually stretched out, and chuckled about the weird circle of rocks Jesus build for the fire.

"That's a triangle." Rick peeled the bark off a bigger piece of wood, flicking the pieces into the fireplace.

"Maybe. But it's pretty." Paul finished his masterpiece with a last little eggshaped pebblestone that didn't make any difference in the bigger picture.

Negan lifted his left butt cheek to pull a folded piece of paper out of his back pocket. "Look at that. That's a fucking big pile of firewood. Good job."

"Hm." Daryl sniffed his nose, awfully happy that it didn't seem like anybody needed a doctor. He dropped the wood into the triangle of rocks and immediately started to arrange it in a better way.

"Here." Negan handed him the paper.

"You're burning the map?" Rick glanced up in disbelief. "How are we ever going to find back out here?"

Negan snapped his fingers for Tiger to sit down next to him. "I'll put you on the leash and use you like a fucking truffle pig." 

Rick squinted. "Shut up."

Shane chuckled, ruffling his partner's curls. "I'd like that."

Rick ducked his head to the left. "Are you on his side now?"

"Hm." Shane pursed his lips with a smirk, shrugging, then pulled a slightly battered zippo out of his pocket. "Here. Should work."

"Thanks." Daryl needed not even ten minutes to get a decent fire going in the middle of the woods of Georgia. It made him a little bit proud because everybody moved closer to warm their hands. Negan even ate all the berries. He sniffed his nose and flicked a strand of hair out of his face. "'can get you more food."

"Yeah?" Negan snapped his fingers against Paul's temple when he attempted to eat the 23rd Tic Tac. "What do you wanna get me? More berries?"

"Hm." Daryl shrugged, gazing at his surroundings. "Rabbit or somethin'."

The gruff little statement brought a smirk to Negan's lips. "You wanna kill a bunny so I won't starve?"

Daryl sniffed his nose once more, cracking his knuckles as he watched a squirrel running up a fir. "Yeah." He really would. He would have hunted a whole sounder of boars for Negan. "'can build a shelter, too."

The four men sitting around the crackling fire smirked in unison at Daryl's dead serious tone, but only Negan said something. "I know you can. But we will eat and sleep at the hotel, right?" He nudged his sub's arm, pointing to the left. "How about you cut me that awesome tree over there, though. Looks like it's just waiting to shed its fucking needles all over my pretty hardwood floors." 

"Hm." Daryl straightened his posture, shrugging one shoulder in an almost indifferent manner while he secretly burst with excitement. "Okay."

"Okay." Negan gave a nod. "I'll buy you some fries tonight if you won't drop it on Paula."

"Hey!" Jesus stopped rubbing his frozen palms over the fire just to shoot one of his dads an offended look. "My dick is perfectly warm and in optimal condition. Thank you very much."

\----

Daryl knew the sun would set around 5 PM and by 3:30 it started to make him really nervous. Shane helped him to pull the majestic Christmas tree through the snow but the additional baggage slowed them down anyway. Several times he had proposed the option of a camp for the night, but he got turned down. At 4 PM he first wrinkled his nose when he peered up at the sky and then sniffed it as he cast a glance at Rick's wrist and the ancient chronometer attached to it. And since there was still no hotel in sight or at least the street or a little village in far distance, he decided to try once more. "Jesus."

"Hmm." Paul felt too weak and disheartened to answer properly or turn around.

"Can you hold that."

"Sure." He stopped with hanging shoulders, not even caring what exactly he was supposed to do since it was obvious at this point that he would freeze to death in the beautiful wilderness of Georgia. 

"Thanks." Daryl left his place on the left side of the tree stem and hurried to the tall man at the head of the group. He sniffed his nose, glancing up. "Hello."

"Hi." Negan didn't smile even though he meant to and instead touched his gloved hand to his sub's fingers. "How's my tree."

Daryl pointed back towards Shane, the tree, and a young man who fought a hopeless battle with resin and fir needles. "Good."

"Mh." Negan nodded. "Did you miss my frozen balls?"

Daryl shook his head, irritated for a second before he chuckled insecurely. Negan looked really very cold. His cheeks were all red and the lobes of his ears.

Negan smirked, squeezing his boy's hand. "I'm fine."

"Hm." Daryl exhaled a nervous breath, then glanced up again. "'s dark soon. I know how to build a shelter."

"I know you do."

"There's no ticks in the snow."

Negan chuckled.

Jesus didn't, but his voice sounded surprisingly vigorous for someone on the brink of death. "Who cares about ticks? There is snow in the snow! Do you even know what snow is? Frozen water! Tiny Ice crystals! Billions of them!"

"We don't sleep outside. It's ridiculous to even-" Rick squinted, wiping the slightly frozen spot beneath his nose with the back of his hand and then held his arm out to stop everyone walking behind him. "Do you see that?" 

"Yeah." Negan squinted as well. "Lights."

Shane put the tree down. "They're not moving. Must be a building."

"Oh thank god!" Jesus slumped down on the tree since it was the closest thing to furniture available. "Call me Goldielocks but the first bowl of porridge is mine." 

Daryl sniffed his nose, tugging Negan's sleeve. "'can run 'n see what it is."

"Mh." Negan pursed his lips, staring at the three little lights in the distance. "I am sure it is the hotel." He squeezed Daryl's hand once more. "Go pack my tree. We wanna arrive before it's dark." 

"Yeah." Rick put the collar of his jacket up. "Let's hurry."

They walked for a couple of minutes before Negan nudged his employee's arm and leaned in close for a word in private that dripped heavily with amusement. "See? Just like my little personal truffle pig."

\----

Whether your plans included escaping for a romantic weekend, or enjoying the beautiful surroundings of Northeast Georgia, the White Birch Inn was your number one lodging choice for the sophisticated traveler! ...and also the only one in the area, which increased the demand and offered a convenient excuse to raise the prices to an exorbitant level.

Negan groaned when Astrid behind her rustic wooden counter pulled his platinum American Express through the card reader and handed it back with a friendly smile. 

"Thank you, Sir. It's the Hemlock Suite. Allen will take care of your-" She gestured to the big fir shedding needles all over the luxurious lobby carpets. "Uhm... luggage."

"Great." Negan tossed the key for the second room he had booked to Paul, "Don't forget to report."

"Can't!" Paul crossed his fingers and held them up in the air. "Didn't bring my phone."

Negan stepped into the elevator and snapped his fingers for his dog and boy. "Pen and paper. Make it a good one."

Daryl soundly sniffed his nose when the doors closed. "Where's the tree." He wasn't sure if he liked the hotel. Sleeping in a shelter in the woods would have been nice as well.

"The hotel staff puts it in water until we go home." Negan crooked his fingers, beckoning his grumpy sub closer. "What will you do in the room, tell me."

Daryl shrugged one shoulder, mumbling an answer. "Ask for permission to use your furniture."

"Look at you giving such clever answers." Negan was glad he had a raisin in his pocket and fed it ceremoniously. "Nice job. You also wanna make a fire in the fireplace, call for food, and take care of Tiger while I take a shower. Then you'll get a chance to properly apologize for hiding my phone."

"Hm." It was much easier to agree with the sweet taste of a reward raisin on the tongue. "Okay." 

"Good." The elevator doors opened with a bing and Negan patted the back of his thigh for his sub and dog to follow. "Thirty minutes. Tell the room service Daddy is fucking hungry." 

\----

The responsible person for dinner inquiries at the other end of the line was Annabeth and even though she tried her very best, she really struggled to understand the young guest currently staying in the Hemlock Suite.

"So, you want the granola apples, prosciutto, falafel on pita bread, the roasted beets with candied pecans, a caesar salad, and a cigar?"

"Hm." Daryl wasn't sure whether he had ordered any of it, but he wanted to end the horrible phone call already and therefore chose to just go with it.

"Very well, Mister Dixon." Annabeth was kind enough to add 127 dollars and 75 cents to the bill. "20 minutes."

"Hm." Daryl hung up, kind of proud that he had accomplished the hardest task. In comparison, making a fire wasn't difficult at all and after a few minutes of crouching in front of the fireplace and blowing air into the smoldering kindlings, he gave Tiger a satisfied look when crackling sounds and comfortable warmth filled he luxurious room.

"Are you being good?" The door to the bathroom opened and a tall man with wet hair and a towel around the waist stepped out.

"Hm." Daryl scrambled to his feet, wiping his grimy fingers into his pants. 

"What do you wanna say."

The firm voice in the formerly rather quiet room had Daryl straighten his shoulders, "'m good." and add a polite little 'Sir' to his answer.

"Yes, you are. Did you order dinner?"

Daryl nodded. "Yes."

"Will they bring something for Tiger, too?"

He grimaced, lifting one shoulder to rub his ear against. Maybe Tiger could eat one of the apples.

Negan cupped the back of his sub's head, pulling him in for a brief kiss on the forehead. "I'll take care of it. Go undress please, give me your clothes and then take a quick shower."

Daryl sniffed his nose, glancing up through tousled bangs. "What do I wear?" His question sounded maybe a bit gruff but normally he wasn't asked to hand his clothing over and wasn't quite sure why he had to do it here at the tree hotel.

"What will you wear after you took a shower?" Negan grabbed the phone and studied the laminated room service card that came with it. "I'll tell them to bring my boy a bathrobe. Now start so we can eat. I'm starving."

\----

40 minutes later, maid Alma had collected all the dirty clothing for an over-night laundry service, and Albert the roomboy had delivered a cart full of food, a bottle of wine on the house and a pre-cut cigar along with a birch wood ashtray. 

Daryl sat on the ground with his bathrobe slipped off his shoulders because the heat of the fire allowed presenting some skin. 

Negan put his cutlery down and leaned back into the armchair, chewing as he studied his sub kneeling on the carpet. He looked especially beautiful with all that healthily glowing skin and longing eyes. "That's some awesome food you ordered."

Daryl cast a brief glance at the various plates and bowls on the table and then looked back at Negan "Yes."

Negan smirked, taking another bite of prosciutto. 

Daryl shifted on his ankles, watching closely.

Negan poured himself some wine, drank, swirled the glass, and drank some more, quietly watching the man on the floor.

Daryl licked his lips, sighing. He really wanted some dinner, too. And after seven more seconds of hesitation, he reached out to tap the comfortably stretched out leg in front of him. "'can I some food please."

It sounded a bit gruff but Negan didn't seem to mind. "Sure. Help yourself."

Daryl sniffed his nose, then scratched his left ear as he examined the different options on the table. It looked all a bit weird but it smelled great. "Hm?" He pointed a hesitant finger at the falafel.

Negan nodded. "Try. It's made of chickpeas." He watched as one was pulled out of the pita bread and shyly vanished between his sub's lips. "Good?"

"Hm." Daryl wasn't exactly sure what it tasted like but it was edible. "Yes."

"Mhm." Negan sipped his wine and then glanced towards the door when it knocked. "Yes, come in."

"I am bringing your order, Sir." Albert pretended that he wasn't kind of abashed to find two men in bathrobes in front of the fireplace and confidently served a fancy porcelain bowl with homemade french fries and a tiny portion of ketchup along with a salt shaker. He placed it on the coffee table to the other food and implied a half-bow as he left again. "Enjoy."

"Didn' order that." Daryl sounded a bit grumpy because he didn't want to be accused of ordering junk food for dinner. 

"I know." Negan sprinkled a tiny bit of salt over the fries, ate one himself and then placed the bowl on the ground between his sub's correctly spread knees. "I ordered it. I told you I buy you some."

Daryl looked at the food before he glanced up, wiping some hair out of his face. "For the tree?"

Negan nodded as he leaned back again, resting the wine glass on his terrycloth-covered thigh. "Thank you for cutting it for me, Mister Dixon. It looks fucking awesome."

The corner of Daryl's mouth tipped up. "'Can put it in your living room."

"That would be great." Negan nudged his boy's knee with the tip of his toe. "Will you keep my floor needle-free?" He received the most sincere nod that made his eyes crinkle with joy. "Very good. Now eat before that crap gets cold." 

Daryl sniffed his nose with a nod and grabbed four fries at once to stuff into his mouth. It was the best crap he had eaten in a long time and three minutes later he just smiled with full cheeks when it knocked again and two guys in matching white hotel bathrobes and bare feet entered the room.

"Twinsies!" Jesus loved the partner look and delivered a slightly crinkled piece of paper to one of his dads before he flopped down on the ground next to Daryl, instantly snitching a french fry out of the fancy porcelain bowl. 

"Don'!" Daryl pushed the other man and put his food half an inch to the left. He wasn't a fan of sharing rewards.

"Ksst." Negan snapped his fingers with a stern look that he held for a warning moment, "Behave." before he accepted the beer Shane offered him. "Where's Rick?"

"His show's on." Shane took a seat in the other armchair, making himself comfortable with his legs spread, sipping a ginger ale straight from the bottle. "Great hotel."

"Yeah, not bad." Negan pursed his lips, sipped his beer and read the label because it tasted great. "Called Joseph. He'll get the car in the morning."

Shane drank another gulp, nodding. "Good."

"You like my report, Daddy?" Paul snagged a piece of roasted beet from the coffee table, staining his lips in a nice shade of red.

"I don't know. I'm in a conversation right now." Negan arched a brow at boy number two. "I'll read it later."

Paul wiggled his own in return and zipped his lips, loving when one of his dads got all parental. 

Shane gestured with the bottom of his bottle. "Will he pick up the tree, too?" He huffed a laugh, sliding a bit deeper into his seat. "Not even sure if it fits. Thing is huge." 

"Mh. 'll ask the staff here to organize the transport."

Shane nodded, "Probably better." and then raised his voice a bit to address the young man on the ground protectively crouching over a bowl of fries. "Have to admit I'm impressed, man. You cut that tree like a pro."

Daryl needed a second to realize that he was spoken to and when he did he tucked a strand of still damp hair behind his ear, his face serious. "'s not difficult." It really wasn't.

Shane sipped his drink. "You've done it before?"

"Hm." Daryl nodded, swiping two fries through the last bit of weird ketchup. It didn't taste as good as the one that Olivia always bought. "Yes, Sir." The very moment the small word passed his lips, he froze in shock, his stomach turning hot instantly. He looked up at Negan, wanting to apologize but no word came out.

"What was that?" Negan didn't seem shocked or angry at all, though. "Did you pay respect to another Dom?" He almost sounded happy and used his calm, praising voice.

It made the heat in Daryl's stomach worse and caused him to look away, turn to the right where he didn't have to face anyone or anything but the silly crackling fire. "No."

The defiantly grumbled answer had no effect on Negan or the tone of his voice. "Yeah? I think you did."

Daryl scrunched up his nose underneath his long bangs and didn't say anything because Negan's accusation made him so upset it hurt his guts. 

Paul shrugged, spooning some of the granola apples into his mouth. "I don't mind? Welcome to the many daddies club."

Daryl exploded in burning rage before the silvery spoon had found its way back between Paul's lips. He spun around and slapped both, the cutlery and the plate, out of the man's hands, making one fly across the luxurious carpet and the other clatter against the coffee table. "I DON' KISS HIM!" He waved a furious arm in Shane's direction.

"Yeah, you won't fucking kiss anyone but me for a month." Negan raised his voice a bit but not in an aggressive manner. He just snapped his fingers, "Here." to order his sub to the free spot between his feet. "Now." It took a moment until his wish was fulfilled but eventually a young man with red cheeks and heaving chest crouched between his legs, not daring to look anywhere. "Head down." Negan put a firm hand on Daryl's head, pushing it down against his thigh.

"Great." Jesus shook his head as he scraped the food off the carpet. "Thank you so much, Sir." He blindly waved an arm in Shane's direction. "First you take away my coffee, now I don't get to smooch him all December long. Why don't you just end my life and get it over with?!"

Shane snorted a laugh, "How's that my fault?" He got up, figuring Negan needed a moment of privacy with his sub.

Paul rose to his feet as well, grumpily dropping the dirty plate on the coffee table. "You always have to flaunt all that charisma and authority around like hot candy! No wonder us poor guys get confused and stuff!"

Shane groaned and shook his head as well, waving a brief goodbye to the other Dom in the room. "Breakfast at nine?" 

Negan nodded, "Sure." waited until the door got shut, waited a moment longer with his hand on his sub's head and finally broke the silence. "You wanna say anything?" 

Daryl wanted to. He wanted to say that he was very sorry for calling another man 'Sir'. And for getting angry in front of guests. For Pushing Jesus and making the carpet dirty in a nice hotel. But he didn't say any of it and instead pondered the option to run away and live in the woods forever. In the end, he shook his head. Just a tiny bit, huffing a breath as he slid a millimeter closer into the safe space between long legs. And then instantly felt at the brink of tears when a very steady, very calm voice spoke to him, filling the whole room with consolation.

"You are a sub by nature. He is a dominant man. A fucking decent one since he's sober. You know each other well by now, it's absolutely normal that you feel submissive around him and want to pay him respect. I don't mind. It makes me proud."

Daryl panted soundlessly, clenching his fists. He wanted to hit Negan for saying something so cruel.

"Hey!" Negan could feel his boy tensing up and delivered a very light swat to the cheek. "It makes me proud because I can see how smart you are. You don't pay respect to any douche wearing leather pants. You see through the bullshit. You can tell what real authority is. Shane rightfully earned your respect. That's why I don't mind when you express it. I leave you in his care occasionally because he earned my respect as well. He earned my trust. Right?" 

Daryl pressed his face into the terrycloth covering Negan's thigh, mumbling a reply that still dripped with heavy emotions. "'don' wanna kiss him."

"Why not. Tell me." Negan combed his fingers through tousled hair. 

"'m yours!"

It was a loud answer, sounding a bit desperate and it made Negan's voice even calmer. "You are." He tapped the steel collar he found underneath the chaos of freshly washed hair with one gentle fingertip. "You are collared, we have rules and a commitment. I don't share."

Daryl listened, taking a deep, shaky breath.

"I share Paul because he wants to be shared. It makes him happy. Right?" Negan grasped his boy's chin and pushed it up, wanting eye contact. "And I am glad that you are happy with my old ass solely. Wouldn't want to share my sweetheart." He smirked, seeing the instant horror in blue eyes. "Am I not that old?"

Daryl shook his head, touching the terrycloth covering Negan's stomach because he really wasn't old one bit.

"Hh." Negan sucked his right canine tooth soundly. "You wanna open my robe for me." He rolled his hips once, enjoying the new blush decorating pale cheeks as well as shy fingers clumsily fumbling with the knot in his belt before the thick fabric fell open to reveal his nude body. "Good boy." He lowered his voice a bit, putting his arms on the armrests. "What's my name. You wanna say it." The insecure look he got combined with a slightly gruff voice was all he had hoped for.

"Negan."

He added a faint smile to the long look he gave his sub. "What do I like. Show me."

Daryl exhaled nervously, eyeing one of his owner's nipples before he rose up a bit in his kneeling position, his own bathrobe sliding almost completely off his body. 

"Go on. Show me."

He tried to keep eye contact when he moved closer and held his breath as the first skin contact was created. Warm skin, all over. Body hair and bare genitals, the scent of soap and wine. It made his heart drum and his ears glow. He stuck his tongue out and touched the tip to a perky nipple, just briefly before he closed his lips around it, sucking softly. He loved how it brought a small groan to the surface, deep and kind of husky, while three slightly cool fingers curled around the back of his neck to encourage the direction. It gave him the confidence to bring a hand between them and fondle his owner's cock and balls, stroke him slowly, make Negan's head sink back and rest comfortably against the back of the chair. Serve the only man in his life that truly mattered, the best way he could with all the devotion he felt.

\----

The fire still crackled away at 0:12 in the very early morning and Daryl almost felt hypnotized, laying on his stomach in a very big, very comfortable bed. There was a soft fur covering the mattress and his entire body still thrummed from the past hours of service he had provided, as well as from the reward he had received afterwards. Long fingers skimmed lazily over his bare back, drawing all kinds of shapes and forms onto his heated skin. He opened his eyes, seeing a bare chest, very close. Dark hair and a black tattoo. He wanted to smile but was too tired and content to move a single muscle.

Negan lay on his side, casually propped on his elbow, enjoying the warmth of the room, the rest of his wine, and the sight of his exhausted boy. "Did I tell you that Lance 'll come for a visit on Christmas?" 

Daryl blinked once, very slowly, as images of last year's Christmas celebrations popped into his mind. Tasty food, a beautiful Christmas tree with a thousand lights, awesome gifts and a lot of people. He closed his eyes. "'til you put the sign up?" The one that said that everybody had to stay far away from the factory because it was Negan/Daryl time until the 6th of January.

Negan chuckled. "Probably." He drew a firm circle to the middle of Daryl's spine. "Anything special you wanna do for Christmas? Visit your brother?"

"Mh." Daryl nodded. He really wanted to do that.

"Hm. I have a jacket at the store that I wanna give him."

He blinked his eyes open and tipped his head up to see Negan's face. "The brown one?"

"Yes."

Daryl knew exactly which one and got happy instantly because Merle would look awesome with it. "Can he wear it?"

"Not at the prison, I guess." Negan lifted a strand of hair out of Daryl's forehead. "But soon, when he gets out." He wagged his brows with a smirk.

Daryl chuckled, closing his eyes again. "'s nine years or somethin'."

"Or somethin'?" Negan copied his sub's hoarse tone. "You and Paul hang out too much." 

Daryl chuckled again and then felt a bit naughty when a perfectly manicured fingernail scratched the corner of his mouth to remove a tiny white spot that had dried a while ago. The obvious joviality was removed along with it and made him open his eyes once more. "'m sorry 'bout your phone. 'was stupid."

Negan studied his boy silently for a while, "Hm." then sighed and grabbed him to pull him close in one swift motion, back to chest, crotch to butt, burying his nose into longish hair. "It was. But you're forgiven." He closed his eyes, entwining their fingers in front of Daryl's stomach.

...and maybe, in all honesty, he would have had to admit, that for once he was actually glad that his misbehaved sub had caused such a decent time out from work and stress, here in the middle of nowhere. 

He inhaled deeply, biting the side of a warm neck. "Now sleep. Fuckin' puppy."


End file.
